Austin Weekly News 061020

FREE

■

Vol. 34 No. 24

■

June 10, 2020

■

We can control the looting of our minds,

austinweeklynews.com

■

Also serving Garfield Park

@AustinWeeklyChi

PAGE 7

Cl Clergy pprotest t t on Sunday, PAGE 2

@AustinWeeklyNews

Family demands criminal investigation into police attack Chicago officers dragged woman out of car outside Brickyard Mall on May 31

By MINA BLOOM & PASCAL SABINO Block Club Chicago

The family of Mia Wright is calling for a criminal investigation into the police officers who pulled Wright from her car, dragged her by her hair and knelt on her neck outside of a Northwest Side mall on May 31.

The family, which has hired attorney Nenye Uche to represent them, is also demanding the disorderly conduct charges filed against Wright be dropped.

“I was in my car with my family … just driving,” Wright told reporters at a press conference on June 4, held in the Brickyard Mall parking lot where she was attacked. “I could’ve died … the way I was just tossed out the vehicle like an animal.”

The violent attack, first reported by Block Club Chicago, was captured on cellphone video.

Wright, 25, and her cousin, Tnika Tate, 39, were running errands at the Brickyard Mall, 2600 N. Narragansett Ave. Without explanation, officers dragged Wright out of the car by her hair, threw her to the ground and pinned her by her neck — eerily reminiscent of the police confrontation that led to George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, See BRICKYARD MALL on page 3

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photograper

MARCH ON MADISON: Roughly 2,000 protesters marched from Oak Park’s village hall to Madison and Central in Austin on June 4 to protest the institutional racism that resulted in the death last month of George Floyd at the hands of Minnesota police officers.

At Madison Street protest, a call for white responsibility

‘We have to own this,’ say white residents during Rep. Ford’s June 4 protest march from Oak Park to Austin

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

At least 1,500 people marched from Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison St.,

and held vigil in front of the 15th District Police Headquarters in Austin before walking to Central Avenue on June 4 to protest against the systemic racism that many of the participants believe is the root cause of the May 25 death of George Floyd.

Floyd died handcuffed while Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes and as three other officers looked on. Chauvin has since been arrested and charged with second degree

murder. The other three officers have been charged with aiding and abetting the crime, court records show.

Kris Simmons stood on the westbound side of Madison Street as the protesters, most of them white, streamed past her.

The sight brought Simmons to tears.

“Everybody is trying to make peace and that touched my heart,” she said.

The 55-year-old Austin resident said she’s been depressed over the last several

State Farm Mutual Automobile • Insurance Company State Farm Indemnity Company • Bloomington, IL • statefarm.com® Larry and his staff are licensed and together have over 75 years of State Farm experience.

See PROTEST on page 5

Larry Williams,Agent 5932 W. Lake Street Chicago, 60644 (773) 379-9010 larry.williams.b0bk@statefarm.com

2

Austin Weekly News, June 10, 2020

West Side clergy lead Sunday march The June 7 peaceful protest ended outside 15th District police station

By BONNI McKEOWN Contributor

Roughly 500 people walked from Central and Division to the Chicago Police District 15 Station, 5700 W. Madison St., on June 7. They chanted “Black Lives Matter!” and called for more resources to support fair policing, education and black business development in the community.

Black ministers, led by Pastor Tyree Beard of City of David Ministries at Central and Division, organized the peaceful protest.

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (7th) spoke briefly about his goal for more money for education and jobs on the West and South sides. State Rep. Camille Lilly (78th), representing black elected officials on the West Side, expressed support for the 15th District officers before saying that “We must hold police accountable.”

District 15 Commander Yolanda Talley spoke outside the station.

“Thank you for making the district part of this,” she said. “We needed this peace.” Officers blocked off traffic on Central Avenue. Other police informally milled outside the station, wearing summer uniforms.

Black ministers voiced the themes of peace and persistence, and of leadership from a new generation of ministers, saying “this is our hour of change.”

Church singers led “Amazing Grace” and an updated, bouncier version of “We Shall Overcome.”

“We demand our police treat us like the citizens that walk the streets of Oak Park of Naperville,” one pastor said. If businesses want to take black residents’ money and give them no respect, they should not come back to the neighborhood, he said.

“I don’t condone looting or violence,” said another minister. “But why is it we make a noise about looting in Target, but not about classrooms that have more than 30 kids?”

Two young women who asked that their names not be used, carried a sign saying “Defund police.”

Asked for her definition of the slogan, of the young women visualized a gradual substitution of social workers, EMTs and mental health workers for most situations, and that policing itself should come from within the community.

The first steps in reform should be removing militarized gear and weapons from police departments, she said.

CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

PAUL GOYETTE

TAKING TO THE STREETS: Around 500 people gathered for a peaceful protest march on June 7 that started on Division and Central in Austin and ended at the 15th District police station. The march was organized by area clergy.

Austin Weekly News, June 10, 2020

3

BRICKYARD MALL Police attack from page 1 which has sparked massive protests across the country.

During the attack, a piece of glass from the shattered window got in Wright’s eye. Police called Wright a “f—— savage” and called the family “b——s,” she said.

Police also dragged Wright’s family friend, a man, out of the car during the attack. The family did not provide more information about the man beyond that he is a family friend but said police let him go.

Wright was detained for several hours, charged with disorderly conduct and suffered injuries from the shattered glass hitting her face.

“It is not OK. Animals don’t even get treated like that. Calling her a savage, calling her a b——, it’s wrong,” Uche, the family’s attorney, said at Thursday’s press conference.

The violent attack is under investigation by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates misconduct in the Chicago Police Department, said Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Lightfoot on Wednesday said she and Police Supt. David Brown are taking allegations of misconduct seriously and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability — also known as COPA — has put together a team of investigators that can quickly respond to reports of misconduct during the protests for Floyd.

Block Club Chicago

DEMANDING INQUIRY: Mia Wright, who was attacked by police in the parking lot of the Brickyard Mall Sunday, gets emotional while speaking to reporters at a press conference Thursday morning. Below left, video showed officers smashing car windows, dragging Wright out of the car by her hair and throwing her to the ground and pinning her by her neck.

“The superintendent and I … we don’t tolerate misconduct,” the mayor said. At another point, she said, “I appreciate the restraint that our officers have shown under such very, very difficult circumstances, and we will continue to aggressively investigate and follow up on any allegations of misconduct.”

When asked about the attack on June 4, Lightfoot said she is “confident that COPA is doing everything it can to identify the officers and then will make appropriate recommendation.”

“I’m not the head of COPA, I’m the mayor. I want COPA to … be doing its job but doing it independently,” she said.

At Thursday’s press conference, Uche said the mayor has not yet reached out to the family.

Uche said they’re working with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and are now calling for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office to conduct a

“The” Friendship BAPTIST CHURCH Rev. Dr. Reginald E. Bachus, Pastor

5200 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60644 773-378-6600

fbcchicago.org • facebook.com/friendshipbcchicago SUNDAY SCHEDULE 8:30AM 1st Sunday Communion 8:30AM Morning Worship Service 9:30AM Sunday Church School 11:00AM Mid-Morning Worship Service MIDWEEK SERVICES (Wednesday) 12:00PM Noon Bible Study 6:00PM Bible Study 7:00PM Prayer Meeting

criminal investigation.

“We all know that if this was a normal person, a non-police officer, that rushing up to a vehicle, smashing windows, dragging them by their hair, putting their knee on their neck — we all know that’s going to instigate criminal charges. It wouldn’t take 24 hours before you charge a felony,” he said.

“We’re asking for an investigation by police because this was a highly unethical and vicious attack. And it’s shameful and disgraceful.”

Kim Foxx, Cook County state’s attorney, said in a statement after the press conference that the office is “aware of the incident … and are currently conducting a thorough, independent review of the matter, including the conduct of the police officers involved.”

Police have said Wright was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after “the offender was observed by responding officers assembled with 3 or more persons for the purpose of using force or violence to disturb the peace.”

This explanation baffles the family, as they hadn’t even exited the car.

Asked for her response to the police statement at Thursday’s press conference, Wright said, “… Why was I only arrested if that was the case?”

Uche called the disorderly conduct charges “absolute nonsense.”

“Obviously [police] thought she was someone else,” he said. “Why use that force if you’re not trying to provoke fear and chaos? It has to stop. The charges should be dropped. They’re nonsensical.”

The charge is being handled by the city, not the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, because it was an alleged violation of city ordinance.

Wright, who was choked up as she answered questions from reporters, said she now has to see an eye specialist after the piece of glass from the shattered window got in her eye. She said she has anxiety and she can’t sleep.

“All I thought about was what happened to George Floyd,” she said through tears. “It could’ve been another situation like that. I didn’t do anything.”

CONTACT: pascal@blockclubchi.org

4

Austin Weekly News, June 10, 2020

To our readers

Three pieces of news to share: fundraising, 1M views and Google money

By GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA Staff

Talk about a strong close The first ever fundraiser for the Chicago Independent Media Alliance came to a thunderous close on Friday. Our Growing Community Media is part of CIMA and we’re one of 43 independent newsrooms around the city that took part in this valiant effort.

With a $50,000 rush in the final days, more than 1,000 readers pushed the total raised for

CIMA to $100,149. Add in the $60,000 already banked as matching funds from an array of Chicago foundations and that is $160,000 and a lot of love/respect that will be divvied up among these worthy newsrooms this week.

Thanks to the Growing Community Media partners who joined this effort to nourish independent community journalism in Chicago.

One million page views There has been a lot of news to cover in our seven neighborhoods this past month.

And our small hard-working newsroom has been hard at it from the West Side to Forest Park to Brookfield.

How do you measure impact? There are a lot of ways from talking to appreciative marchers along protest routes to that call

from a local village president with a heads up on what might happen next.

For the data-driven here’s another measure: In the trailing 30 days the combined flags of Growing Community Media – Austin Weekly News, Wednesday Journal of Oak Park & River Forest, Forest Park Review and Riverside-Brookfield Landmark – posted just over 1 million page views. That’s more than double our average.

Thanks for your trust in our coverage.

Thanks to our reporters, our photographer, our freelancers for being on the street doing

this work.

Google has affection for us It’s not a donation. It’s not a grant.

Google is clear about that. But happily it is $7,000 in U.S. currency we can use toward our coverage of COVID-19 in our seven neighborhoods. Growing Community Media was chosen for a first wave of funding from among 12,000 applicants across the globe for Google’s Emergency Newsroom Fund.

We’re grateful. And whatever Google wants to call it is fine by us.

CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

Proud to partner with Austin Talks

austintalks.org INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING? Contact Dawn Ferencak 708.613.3329

GARFIELD PARK LITTLE LEAGUE

“BUILDING BETTER CHILDREN

ONE BASE AT A TIME” For more information or to donate, call us at 773.443.2746

★ Register now at Gpleague.org ★

Austin Weekly News, June 10, 2020

PROTEST

Growing allies from page 1 days, as much of Chicago and the suburbs have been ransacked by looting, vandalism and arson in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

“I’ve been scared to go to work,” Simmons said. “I’m afraid out here, so I just want everybody to come together. I love this. At least somebody is fighting for our rights.”

Deputy Chief of Patrol Ernest Cato, the former 15th District police commander, said that the protest gives residents a critical outlet for speaking their minds peacefully. The protests happened days after a wave of looting and vandalism spread across the city in the wake of a protest in Chicago’s Loop on May 31.

“This is an opportunity for people to talk about how important their communities are and to convince those who are looting and tearing up their communities to stop, because it’s a shame, as one young person said, that his mother can’t even go out to get a gallon of milk or a dozen eggs,” Cato said.

But some black bystanders were more ambivalent about Thursday’s demonstration, which was organized by state Rep. La Shawn K. Ford (4th) and other West Side community leaders.

“I strongly feel that white people are beginning to understand,” said Beatrice Starcks, as she stood outside of AA Rayner & Sons Funeral Home, 5911 W. Madison St. “I like to see this but are they true?” said Starcks’ friend, Sandra Turner, 72. “That’s my concern. The bottom line is, if they’re so into us, why didn’t they try to do something prior to this?”

Starcks added that the white demonstrators “might be true to what they’re doing, but it won’t do no good for us at the bottom if they don’t care of what needs to be taken care of at the top.

“We’re both educators,” Starcks said. “We work in the school system to try to teach these children how to think.

You weren’t born a racist. You weren’t born to hate. You were taught to hate. So, we have to start teaching history.

History has left the building. Everything is technology now.

They’re not teaching history, anymore.”

That history informed the angry lament of 60-year-old Terry Carter, who was a child during the 1968 riots. Carter, of

5

Austin, stood on the corner of Madison and Parkside shouting “An eye for an eye!” as demonstrators walked by peacefully.

“This is nothing new,” Carter said. “This has been going on. It’s just being caught on camera. What those people understand is violence. They put on everybody’s head that we’re violent and we’re animals.

They’re the ones who perpetrated all of this. And I mean the European race. The white man. They perpetrated all of this. They’ve had their foot on our necks for years.

I’ve lived through two riots and ain’t nothing changed.”

For some white protesters, George Floyd’s death was ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer an opportunity to finally confront and take ownership JOINING THE FIGHT: The June 4 protest, organized by state Rep. La Shawn K. Ford, featured predominantly white demonstrators who were vocal about racial injustice. Many of of that painful history.

“One of my realizations the black Austin residents who looked on were cautiously optimistic about the effectiveis that white people have to ness of the demonstrations. stand up and lead on this,” said Tom Cofsky, an Oak Park resident who also sits on District 200 OPRF school board. “This is our problem. We have to own it.”

Dana Langhans, 24, of Oak Park, held a sign that read “White inaction is violence” as she walked back to her hometown from Central Avenue.

“In general, for a very long time, white people have not done enough and often it seems like it has to take another tragedy for white people to show we care,” Langhans said.

“Posting on Facebook is one thing, but we have to do a lot more than that,” she said. “We got to figure out what more we can do. Talk to our family.

Educate our family. Learn the history we never learned. Change the minds of our racist parents.

Get out in the streets. Follow the leadership of black organizers. And protest.”

Ford captured the general tenor of the crowd

during a speech he gave while the march was paused in front of the 15th District Police Headquarters.

“My heart is heavy and I’m so grateful,” he said. “I said in Oak Park that I appreciate white people for being out here with black people.

Today is a demonstration that not all black people are bad, not all white people are bad, not all brown people are bad. Today is a demonstration that we are in it together and that’s what we need.”

Speaking after the protest concluded back at Oak Park’s village hall, Ford said the blending of residents from Austin, Oak Park and River Forest “is an example no other part of the state can match. We can’t do this without white people. There are white people who aren’t racist but they’ve been silent. They didn’t know they need to speak up.”

Ford said that Springfield legislators must change state laws to create consequences for police brutality. “Police need consequences.

There are almost none for bad cops,” he said.

Ford said that by the next legislative session in the fall that a package of new laws focusing on racial bias training for police statewide, on making police discipline records more transparent can be crafted.

“We have veto-proof majorities in the house and the senate and a progressive governor. If we can’t do this now in Illinois we’ll never do it,” said Ford.

CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

6

Austin Weekly News, June 10, 2020

Thank You Moms of Chicago and surrounding areas!

We have missed you!

GRAND REOPENING! Mickey’s Rib Special 1/2 Slab Dinner $11.99 • Full Slab Dinner $17.99 includes fries or baked potato, coleslaw and garlic bread

Wednesday

Gyros Plate Dinner 1 lb meat, 2 pita breads, fries & 3 cups sauce $10.99

Every day Special!

Come try our Big Mickey! $2.99

Gyros with fries $7.99

Reasons why we can’t breathe

I

can’t breathe! I CAN’T breathe! I CAN’T BREATHE! Those three words are reverberating throughout the entire world.

What many people in the past brushed off as being anecdotal tales told by black people of their encounters with racist people/police officers are now being confirmed visually because of videos taken of the incidents.

When Mamie Till-Mobley refused to have a closed casket service for her son, Emmett Till, so the world could see the horror of what was done to him, it became one of the defining moments of the 20th century. Cellphone videos of racist incidents are establishing themselves as the defining moments of the 21st century.

With each cellphone video I’ve seen, I thought it couldn’t get worse. The horror of seeing Ahmaud Arbery being chased and gunned down like the killers were on a safari hunt seemed mild compared to watching an almost 10-minute video of George Floyd being asphyxiated by a cop with a knee to his neck. The protests that have followed have been validated as innocent protesters have been physically assaulted by police officers.

From a 2-year-old black girl who was being held on her father’s shoulder having a gun pointed at her to a white 75-year-old man being pushed down and left bleeding on the sidewalk, the stereotype of the “ugly American” is ringing true. The police force in many regions of this country are proving they have members who are no different

from those of the sadistic regimes of dictators — past and present.

Leadership during this time is proving a rare occurrence. From the stupidity of utterances and tweets out of the president to a response by Mayor OneTerm Lori with an F-you to him, it’s no wonder that the guttural behavior of everyday people and institutions is currently on display.

When those who know better don’t do better, the rest of us are left to whatever means we choose. I guess “when they go low, we go high” was simply a great-sounding sound bite with no real meat to it.

I have written in the past that I am not a believer in white supremacy. Because all things have a polar opposite, white supremacy would have an opposite of black inferiority. What I do subscribe to is the notion of white privilege. Its polar opposite is black under-privilege. White privilege is the reason that woman called the police about the man in Central Park who was bird watching and complained in a hysterical voice that an African-American man was threatening her and her dog.

White privilege is the reason many white police officers in an encounter with black people immediately escalate the situation so they can assert their superiority. It’s not just white cops. My cousin was the young college student being seen in the video out of Atlanta being tased and dragged out of his car for no apparent reason. Five of the six cops involved in that incident were black.

ARLENE JONES

525 N Harlem Ave, Oak Park (708) 848-3333 10:30am - 9pm Daily

AUSTIN WEEKLY NEWS

NEED TO REACH US? Contact Editor Michael Romain at 773-626-6332 • michael@austinweeklynews.com

"645*/ 8&&,-: NEWS

See what all the buzz is about.

Find all the breaking news in your neighborhood.

AustinWeeklyNews.com

Austin Weekly News, June 10, 2020

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

For me, it started on the afternoon of Sunday, May 31. I was driving east on Madison into the city to get a sense of the mood, expecting to see what I had gotten used to seeing in the five years of protests and parades and Lollapaloozas that have gripped the Loop, but have no stronghold on the West Side, where chaos and euphoria — rather than coming in fits and starts — constitutes simply living.

Here, the stores are already boarded up, shards of glass are always and forever being swept away. Here, the pain of loss or of some injustice is always lamented.

There are always protests (and, yes, against crime perpetrated by people other than the police). Here, life goes on after a million minor tragedies.

And that’s how the trip started and continued a block after crossing Austin Boulevard (I remember being relieved, as I always am, by the sight of the 15th District police headquarters). But as I drove east past Laramie and Lavergne and Cicero, I gradually became even more tense than I typically am on the West Side.

The traffic slowed for bodies walking frenetically into the street. Vehicles u-turned in front and beside mine. Those cars that always wrack my nerves: the threatening-looking ones with tinted windows and overlarge rims blaring overloud, bass-heavy rap swerved in and out of gaps between other cars at a standstill.

I drove a few more blocks east and noticed the source of the tension — a crowd of people in front of a Family Dollar. Stopped at a red light on Kildare, I glanced at a man walking on the other side of the street with a large cardboard box. People were carrying

The looting of our minds merchandise into cars in the store’s parking lot.

Instead of driving another block, I turned left and headed for Washington, past a well-known and prominent church, whose pastor was walking quizzically to his car, as if noticing the scene for the first time. His presence brought me some comfort.

That was before or after I heard what sounded like a gunshot.

I sped anxiously on Washington, the sounds of sirens flanking me, anticipating, as I perhaps never have before, the relative safety and serenity of Oak Park.

For me, it continued hours later. As stores near where I live in Maywood began to close, I headed out to drive around and spotted a caravan of cars, engines revved and weaving in traffic near a shopping center in Melrose Park.

Hours later, I saw the mayor of Maywood standing beside the village manager. They were guarding our only grocery store after reports that its alcohol inventory was a target for looting. Our small police force was dispersed elsewhere And it continued on Monday, when the mayor and the manager stood at a corner outside of Proviso East, this time with the police chief, in anticipation of a protest they heard was planned to happen at 3 p.m.

Two people showed up — a married couple who lives in town. They said they’d gotten wind of the “protest” on social media, but no one (not even the authorities) could tell

me where the information originated or who planned the demonstration and for what purpose.

And it continued into the evening, when I noticed two expressway entrance ramps into my town closed before heading home to listen to the police scanner well past midnight. I heard reports of suspicious vehicles and broken windows and shots fired and armed robberies.

I heard police running license plates from Alabama and Arizona.

I took breaks from the scanner to read news reports of vigilante justice happening in Cicero and to belatedly learn of a car “linked to an attempted looting incident” on fire in Oak Park.

And it continued on last Tuesday, when I woke up to video footage released by North Riverside police of a black man shot execution-style on Sunday by another black man wearing a hoodie and a medical mask.

And that was almost enough to push me past my breaking point, to say, ‘F— it’ and start rooting for the National Guard to come rushing in like the Allied forces on D-Day; to start saying, ‘Well, the president has a point,’ as he mobilizes the military; to go to YouTube and grin and giggle at the famous Chris Rock routine about black people vs. n—as, as a way of justifying the ramped up aggression that some part of my subconscious hopes meets those threatening tinted window travelers; to pine for the days when the looting merely happened inside of our national treasury and not in my community.

I have not flirted with the forces of authoritarianism this intensely since my late teens and early 20s, when I fashioned myself something of a conservative and Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and

MICHAEL ROMAIN

AUSTIN WEEKLY news Editor Michael Romain

Circulation Manager Jill Wagner≈

Senior Editor Bob Uphues

Publisher Dan Haley

Contributing Reporters Bonni McKeown, AustinTalks, Igor Studenkov

Business Manager Joyce Minich

Columnist Arlene Jones

HOW TO REACH US

Staff Photographer Alex Rogals

141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302

Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead

PHONE 773-626-6332

Designer Debbie Becker

FAX 708-467-9066

Sales & Marketing Representavies Lourdes Nicholls, Marc Stopeck

ONLINE www.AustinWeeklyNews.com

Sales & Development Mary Ellen Nelligan

7

≈

TWITTER @AustinWeeklyChi

Austin Weekly News is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. It is distributed free of charge at locations across Austin and Garfield Park.

Our hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Advertising rates are available by calling our office.

Printed entirely on recycled paper. © 2020 Growing Community Media NFP.

Freedom was (for about six months) my Bible; and I thought Dinesh D’Souza was an actual scholar; and I watched with glee whenever Bill O’Reilly “destroyed” a member of the New Black Panthers; and I would argue with people about how the ghetto was actually formed because there was something wrong with black culture (trust me, my arguments were very sophisticated).

When I saw the video of that young black man from Austin shot executionstyle outside the Olive Garden in North Riverside, I briefly forgot that George Floyd was dead; had briefly forgotten the history of structural racism I’ve been reading these last three months in quarantine. I became a fan boy of the police and whatever forces of state might quell this chaos. I was something of my younger self again.

I briefly forgot that, based on multiple reports from suburban residents who demonstrated downtown on Saturday, most protesters were peaceful and most taggers and arsonists they came across were not black; and that elected officials across the country, including Maywood’s mayor, are telling us that they think there is a campaign of disinformation happening to deliberately stoke this anarchic chaos.

But the chaos is a symptom of our problems and should not be confused with peaceful actions targeting those problems’ deep, centuries-old roots. Now is not the time for undisciplined thinking and for putting human beings (whether they be police or protesters) and living ideas (like ‘law and order’ or justice) into lazy categories. We need laws that are just, we need civil order that is premised on equity, we need police who are not racists, we need actual equality of opportunity for black people, and we need an economy that values all people over profits.

These things are not mutually exclusive, but there are forces that would persuade us that each is alien to the other.

Yes, we must be vigilant about the looting of businesses, but we must be even more on guard against the looting of our minds.

CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

8

Austin Weekly News, June 10, 2020

After looting, West Siders forge coalitions to clean communities

Nonprofits and youth activists led multiple initiatives last week

By IGOR STUDENKOV & LA RISA LYNCH Contributing Reporters

Hundreds of volunteers have fanned out across the West Side during multiple cleanup efforts held days after looting and vandalism that started on May 31 resulted in boarded-up and burned out businesses.

On June 3, around 200 volunteers participated in a day of cleaning organized

by Austin Coming Together, the Chicago Police Department’s 15th District and area churches.

Jai Jones, ACT’s community engagement coordinator, said that the event’s goal was to promote “positive loitering.” She said many of the areas chosen for cleanup have heavy foot traffic and are very visible. Some are known hotspots for criminal activity.

“We just wanted to make our presence known to say, ‘Hey we are still in this with you guys,” she said. “Although you may see negative activity happening on this corner all the time, this corner is not forgotten about in the community.”

Jones said that a large part of the event’s coordination took place through the 15th District Community Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) office and local faith leaders who are part of the district’s faith and community committee. Build Chicago, Westside Health Authority’s Good Neighbors Campaign, Hope Community Church and Rush University Medical Center also got involved in the effort.

Officers from the 15th District blocked off streets to help with the cleanup and kept an eye on the ground. The district commander, Yolanda Talley, who was appointed to the position last December, was seen talking to residents and coordinating volunteers. Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), whose ward includes the southeastern portion of Austin, was on hand, with his staff mowing grass and helping with the cleanup. Department of Streets and Sanitation trucks helped with the street cleaning, as well.

Jones said that she worked with many officers in the 15th District and found that many are dedicated, committed and faithful to the community.

“There are so many things that we are seeing that is counter to the police who we know,” she said. “It is very important to help to cultivate positive images of police and community, because that is what we do here in Austin. We are all about working together, community organizations, community residents and also law enforcement to build a cohesive unit to tackle injustice.”

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

CHIPPING IN: Volunteers clean up a vacant lot in Austin on June 3, days after looting and vandalism swept the West Side and other areas of the Chicago metropolitan area in the wake of the May 25 death of George Floyd.

The original plan was to clean up around Lake St. and Laramie Avenue, near By the Hand Club for Kids’ Austin location, before moving to the intersection of La Crosse and Maypole avenues. Later in the afternoon, they planned to clean around the intersection of Lavergne Avenue and Washington Blvd.

But the clean-up at La Cross and Maypole was going faster than expected, with volunteers moving west and south along the surrounding streets. By around 1:10 p.m., the volunteers had already moved to the next destination, converging at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and

Leclaire Avenue, near St. Martin de Porress Church. Father Tom Walsh, the parish’s pastor, directed the volunteers.

“People in this neighborhood know a lot more about death than they know about life, so let’s bring some life to this place,” he said.

Cleaning up East Garfield Park While volunteers were cleaning up parts of Austin, two West Side youth organizers led a coalition of volunteers who cleaned up part of East Garfield Park.

The Westside Justice Center, 601 S. California Ave., allowed Destiny Harris,

19, and Kaleb Autman, 18, to use its space as a jumping off point for their community cleanup, which attracted 300 people of all races over two days beginning on June 3.

During last Wednesday’s event, at least 100 volunteers participated, with cleanup crews fanning out along California and Harrison to clean sidewalks, empty lots and even alleys.

The volunteers, working in teams of three or four pulled weeds, raked debris from alleys and picked up trash from sidewalks and curbs. Financial donations helped purchase rakes, buckets and brooms. And a disposal truck to haul off all the debris was donated in collaboration with the West Side Justice Center. Donations also came in from Rotary Chicago, Assata’s Daughters and Good Kids Mad City.

“We know we have to be the ones to care for our community that the city has constantly abandoned,” said Harris. “We know in solidarity with the movement that we have to be the ones to rebuild our communities.”

“We saw a need for our communities to be loved for and cared for,” said Autman.

“We saw a need for warmth of community and not anything that is more divisive.

We saw a need in supporting communities already deprived of resources and then what happens after a rebellion.

“We’ve seen this before after the MLK riots. Our communities still haven’t recovered from that. So we knew we had to come up and show up for our communities in a way that wasn’t just us cleaning up [after] rioting and looting, but also in a way that says we can clean up every single day. It shouldn’t take a protest to do that.”

CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

Austin Weekly News, June 10, 2020

After tensions ran high last week, organizers partnered to bridge relationships

9

Latino and Black leaders unite

By PASCAL SABINO & MAURICIO PENA Block Club Chicago

After tensions ran high between some people in Chicago’s Black and Latino communities this week, leaders and organizers partnered to bridge relationships in neighborhoods across the Southwest Side.

At a June 2 rally at UIC Forum, a coalition of Black and Latino leaders aimed to spread a message of unity. The same night in Pilsen, organizers of a peaceful protest aimed to show solidarity with Chicago’s Black community after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Then, Wednesday morning in Little Village, people united at another rally under the 26th Street arches.

There’s already been changes: A coalition of Latino organizers formed the Brown Squad For Black Lives, and a Black and Brown Unity food pantry was planned.

“We as a neighborhood understand there have [been] things that have happened over the last couple of days that they are totally unacceptable,” said Benjamin Estrada, director of street outreach for New Life Center in Little Village. “The small amount of people that acted out in that fashion … do not represent the community as a whole.”

On Sunday, Little Village neighbors organized to protect businesses from looters.

Some of the men who guarded businesses

were members of the Latin Kings street gang, according to local leaders.

While most neighbors have organized to support “each other in unimaginable ways,” a few Latino men have indiscriminately targeted Black Chicagoans in the neighborhood, said Little Village Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd).

On Monday, several local leaders — including Rodriguez, Pilsen Ald. Byron SigchoLopez (25th) and Englewood Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) — denounced the few people who were indiscriminately targeting others.

Little Village “is really trying to step up and … get rid of the bad apples that are doing that type of activity because we are all going through struggles right now,” Estrada said.

It’s important for leaders to reinforce relationships in the multicultural communities of Little Village and North Lawndale on the West Side, two neighborhoods that border each other, Estrada said.

It’s also important for trusted activists to use their power to squash rumors and quell fear in communities, he said.

Michelle Zacarias, one of the founders of Brown Squad For Black Lives, said she felt obligated to do something.

“There was a lot of blatantly targeted attacks towards Black community members in predominantly Latinx neighborhoods.

We felt it was our obligation to come collect our community to ensure the safety of Black folks,” Zacarias said.

The group is working to directly fund Black-led organizations like Assata’s Daughters and Brave Space Alliance. The group also wants to address longstanding anti-Blackness by examining where racism comes from and how it is passed from generation to generation, Zacharias said.

“The ultimate goal is to make sure that

our Black community members are protected at all costs. And also understanding that Black liberation means liberation for all people.

Our struggles are intersected,” she said.

Xavier Ramey, CEO of Justice Informed and a Pilsen resident, said there has been a lot of fear of walking the streets in the last few days. Now more than ever, Black and Brown communities must stand together to fight against systemic inequalities and a lack of resources, said Ramey, who grew up in North Lawndale.

In Little Village, Matt DeMateo of New Life Centers was on the streets to deescalate tension.

“We’re stronger together. Uniting our

Mauricio Pena/Block Club Chicago

COMING TOGETHER: Black and Latino organizers gather for a solidarity march under the 26th Street arches in Little Village on June 3.

The march happened as tensions between blacks and Latinos flared in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.

communities, standing against hate and division, standing in solidarity with our Black brothers and sisters,” he said.

Adam Hollingsworth, a Black cowboy who rides under the name Dreadheadcowboy, rode his horse through Little Village Tuesday waving a Mexican flag.

“We bringing peace back, man,” he said, speaking to a Latino bus driver asking him about the horse. “This ain’t no race war.”

Ricardo Estrada, CEO of Metropolitan Family Services, said Black and Brown Chicagoans must be united in their fight for equality.

“Don’t fall into the trap of divide and conquer,” he said. “We have allowed others to splinter us … . That is not what we are going to do. We say no to that today. We say no to that tomorrow and we say no to that always.”

Back of the Yards resident Elias Ramos, who is Black and Mexican, urged residents to look at the “good in everybody.” The outreach worker for the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago said it’s was time to put an end to any division.

“Our city is burning and this is sad. Look at us,” he said through tears. “… We have to come together.”

Subscribe to Block Club Chicago at blockclubchicago.org. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.

CONTACT: pascal@blockclubchi.org

10

Austin Weekly News, June 10, 2020

REAL ESTATE FORÂ SALE

deadline: 9:30 am Monday office hours: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Monday – Friday

CLASSIFIEDS TO PLACE AN AD HELP WANTED

CALL: 773-626-6332 | FAX: 708-467-9066 | E-MAIL: classifieds@AustinWeeklyNews.com Place your ad online anytime at AUSTINWEEKLYNEWS.COM/CLASSIFIED HELP WANTED

River Forest Public Schools District 90 Student Support Services - Vacancies for the 2020-2021 School Year

District 90 is seeking qualified and experienced student support educators for the following positions: • Special Education Support Teacher (Willard Elementary School) • Special Education Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Coordinator (All D90 Schools) • English Language Learners Teacher – Part-time (Roosevelt Middle School) • Speech and Language Pathologist (Roosevelt Middle School) • Social Worker - Part-time (Willard Elementary School) For detailed qualifications requirements and job duties, please visit our website at https://www.district90.org/about/ employment for our complete list of employment opportunities.

General Duties: Provide excellence in education by developing and implementing activities that encourage students to be life-long learners. Possesses knowledge of District policies and regulations relating to areas of responsibilities.

Create an environment that is conducive to learning and appropriate to the developmental maturity and interests of each student.

Application: Apply online at www. district90.org. Application Procedure: Interested candidates should complete the online application available at district90.org.

Please do not send hard copies of supporting documentation, i.e. cover letters, resumes, licensure, etc. to River Forest Schools District 90; instead, upload these materials onto the online job application system for proper processing.

- Experience with an iOS mobile device management (MDM) solution (i.e. JAMF), Apple Configurator, Device Enrollment Program, Volume Purchase Program and GSX. Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) and/or Apple Certified Mac Technician (ACMT) and/or Ap-

ple iOS Qualification certification is preferred. Certified Casper Administrator (CCA) and/ or Certified Mobile Administrator (CMA) is preferred.

- Experience with a variety of Learning Management Systems (Schoology, SeeSaw, Google Classroom, etc) and Remote Learning platforms (Zoom, Google Meet, etc).

- Experience in a school setting with an understanding of curriculum and instruction procedures is preferred.

Job Duties: The Remote Learning/ Technology Facilitator will assist with all District technology support requirements with a specific emphasis on training, supporting, and maintaining

CITY RENTALS BASEMENT APT FOR RENT 1BR Furnished apt near Thomas & Lavergne. Available June 1. $675.

Tenant pays utilities.

Call 773-626-0365

You have jobs.

We have readers!

Call 773-626-6332 to advertise in AWN.

the district’s Learning Management Systems and Remote Learning Platforms. The Remote Learning/Technology Facilitator will also help coordinate the creation of a skills assessment/inventory scope and sequence of student technology skills, and support teachers in remote learning.

Application Procedure: Interested candidates should complete the online application available at district90. org. Please do not send hard copies of supporting documentation, i.e. cover letters, resumes, licensure, etc. to River Forest Schools District 90; instead, upload these materials onto the online job application system for proper processing.

ROOMS FORÂ RENT AUSTIN CLEAN ROOM With fridge, micro.

Nr Oak Park, Super Walmart, Food 4 Less, bus, & Metra. $116/wk and up.

773-637-5957

CEMENT

Apartment listings updated daily at:

General Qualifications: Valid Illinois Professional Education License with endorsement in field of study, a Master’s Degree is preferred and successful teaching experience with students in a classroom setting is preferred.

River Forest D90 has an opening for a Remote Learning/Technology Facilitator.

A complete list of qualifications and duties are listed on the District’s website.

Preferred Qualifications: - Experience with iOS, Macintosh and PC systems, server systems, networking equipment and protocols, databases, hardware, software, training, troubleshooting and technological support.

SUBURBAN RENTALS

Residential Commercial Industrial Licensed Bonded Insured Free Estimates ¡ Veteran Owned

Drives Walks Patios Stamped Concrete Curbs/Gutters Garage Floors Foundations Parking Lots Water Control

devegaconcrete.com ¡ 708-945-9001

Find your new apartment this Saturday from 10 am – 4pm at 35 Chicago Avenue.

Or call us toll free at 1-833-440-0665 for an appointment.

OFFICE SPACE FORÂ RENT THERAPY OFFICES FOR RENT Therapy offices for rent in north Oak Park. Rehabbed building. Nicely furnished. Flexible leasing. Free parking. Free wifi; Secure building; Friendly colleagues providing referrals. Shared waiting room; optional Conference. Call or email with questions. Shown on Sundays.

Lee 708.383.0729 drlmadden@ameritech.net

ITEMS FOR SALE LENOX CHINA 5 piece place settings Lenox china, Tuxedo pattern WATERFORD GLASSES Colleen pattern, 2 water goblets, 2 wine glasses, 5 double old fashioned glasses IRISH CARDIGAN Men’s size large.

708-386-6160

WANTED TO BUY WANTED MILITARY ITEMS: Helmets, medals, patches, uniforms, weapons, flags, photos, paperwork, Also toy soldiers – lead or plastic – other misc. toys.

Call Uncle Gary 708-522-3400

CLOSET ORGANIZATION ORGANIZE YOUR CLOSETS! We can offer safe, creative, professional, and affordable solutions to address the need of your cluttered, unorganized closets. Using either wire shelving components, or more attractive wood grain laminated particle board, we successfully work closely with our clients to help them with their organizing challenges. We also offer assembly services for and Ikea products. Contact us for a free quote today!

Brian@bkedesigns.com (312) 504-6149

MAGANA CEMENT

ELECTRICAL Ceiling Fans Installed

ELECTRICAL

A&A ELECTRIC

Let an American Veteran do your work

We install plugs for battery-operated vehicles We fix any electrical problem and do small jobs We install Surge Protectors • Home Re-wiring • New Plugs & Switches Added • New circuit breaker boxes • Code violations corrected Service upgrades,100-200 amp • Garage & A/C lines installed Fast Emergency Service | Residential • Commercial • Industrial Free Home Evaluations | Lic. • Bonded • Ins. • Low Rates • Free Est.

708-409-0988 • 708-738-3848 Sr. Discounts • 30 Yrs. Exp. Servicing Oak Park • All surrounding suburbs • Chicago area

AIR CONDITIONING/ HEATING AIR CONDITIONING AND APPLIANCE EXPERT Air Conditioning Automotive A/C Refrigerators Ranges • Ovens Washer • Dryers Rodding Sewers Lic/Bonded 25 yrs experience

PAINTING & DECORATING CLASSIC PAINTING

Fast & Neat Painting/Taping/Plaster Repair Low Cost

708.749.0011

PLASTERING McNulty Plastering & Stucco Co.

Small & big work. Free estimates.

Complete Plaster, Stucco & Re-Coating Services

708/386-2951 • ANYTIME Work Guaranteed

Licensed, Bonded, Insured, & EPA Certified Expert craftsmanship for over 50 years

PUBLIC NOTICES

C O N C R E T E C O N S T RU C T I O N

FREE SERVICE CALL WITH REPAIR AND SENIOR/VETERAN DISCOUNT.

COMMERCIAL ˜ INDUSTRIAL ˜ RESIDENTIAL

708-785-2619 or 773-585-5000

In the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, County Department, County Division.

HANDYMAN

Request of: MANCHING KWOCK for change of name to MANDY KWOK, Case Number 2020CONC000221.

“QUALITY IS OUR FOUNDATION� ESTABLISHED IN 1987

708.442.7720 '5,9(:$<6 Â&#x2021; )281'$7,216 Â&#x2021; 3$7,26 67(36 Â&#x2021; &85% *877(56 Â&#x2021; 6,'(:$/.6 612: 3/2:,1* Â&#x2021; 67$03(' &2/25(' $**5(*$7( &21&5(7( FREE ESTIMATES LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED

HANDYMAN Roofing Repairs Concrete Repairs â&#x20AC;˘ Drywall All types of handiwork Call For Free Estimates

773-637-0692 Ask for John

PUBLIC NOTICE PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME

There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: Manching Kwock to the new name of: Mandy Kwok.

The court date will be held on June 24, 2020 at 9:30 a.m. at 50 West Washington Street, Chicago, Cook County in Courtroom #1706.

Published in Austin Weekly News 5/27, 6/3, 6/10/2020

email us: classifieds @ AustinWeeklyNews.com

REAL ESTATE FORÂ SAL IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE, SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST TO BANK OF AMERICA NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO LASALLE BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR CERTIFICATEHOLDERS OF BEAR STEARNS ASSET BACKED SECURITIES I LLC, ASSET BACKED-CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-EC2 Plaintiff, -v.TANYANYIKA JONES A/K/A TANYANYIKA D JONES, A/K/A TANYANYIKA JAMISON, DARREN L JONES A/K/A DARREN JONES Defendants 12 CH 11486 1308 NORTH WALLER AVENUE CHICAGO, IL 60651 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on May 29, 2018, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on July 6, 2020, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 1308 NORTH WALLER AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL 60651 Property Index No. 16-05-221-0330000 The real estate is improved with a three story single family home with a detached garage.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial Sale fee for the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/ or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in â&#x20AC;&#x153;AS ISâ&#x20AC;? condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

Austin Weekly News, June 10, 2020

(773) 626-6332 | FAX: (708) 467-9066 | E-MAIL: CLASSIFIEDS@AUSTINWEEKLYNEWS.COM

CLASSIFIEDS

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4).

If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL, 60602. Tel No. (312) 346-9088.

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

MCCALLA RAYMER LEIBERT PIERCE, LLC One North Dearborn Street, Suite 1200 Chicago IL, 60602 312-346-9088 E-Mail: pleadings@mccalla.com Attorney File No. 9321 Attorney ARDC No. 61256 Attorney Code. 61256 Case Number: 12 CH 11486 TJSC#: 40-1324 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 12 CH 11486 I3150459

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination.

The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

Restrictions or prohibitions of pets do not apply to service animals.

To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777.

Austin Weekly News

local employees happy employees!

Hire Local.

Place an ad on AWN’s Local Online Job Board.

Go to AustinWeeklyNews.com/classified today!

Contact Mary Ellen Nelligan for more information.

(708) 613-3342 • maryellen@forestparkreview.com

11

12

Austin Weekly News, June 10, 2020 SPONSORED CONTENT

Welcome To Our House: Oak Park Regional Housing Center Who We Are And What We Do | “In Memory of George Floyd”

O

ak Park Regional Housing Center (OPRHC) is a 501(c)3 and HUD approved nonprofit organization founded in 1972 with a mission to achieve meaningful and lasting integration and diversity in Oak Park and the surrounding region. As a fair Athena Williams, Executive Director housing organization, OPRHC OAK PARK REGIONAL has promoted the expansion HOUSING CENTER of fair housing choices and opportunities for all persons protected by the Fair Housing Act and other fair housing laws. We have a staff of 12 who do this work through financial, rental, and home buying counseling programs.

As the Executive Director of Oak Park Regional Housing Center, I would like everyone to know that while we are deeply saddened by the unjustified killing of George Floyd and countless others, we see that these events highlight the disparities of power and influence which permit systemic and ongoing injustice which flourishes in America. Blacks in America have experienced ongoing years of relentless oppression. You see it everywhere, from the media to our communities.

When I assumed the position as the first Black woman Executive Director of the Oak Park Homeownership Center in September 2019, I embraced this role as a selfimposed sense of energetic resolve, to accomplish many things, beginning with building on the legacy of the late Roberta Raymond, founder of the Center, to promote fair and open housing. As time moves on, I realize I must now, more than ever, continue in her foot steps to fight discrimination, promote community reinvestment, and through advocacy and example, introduce and launch open housing modeling- everywhere. Much of this takes

public policy that resulted in the fair and open housing in the Village of Oak Park, without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation. In addition, I realize we must also build on the what I started three years earlier as the Program Director for Austin Rising, an affiliate initiative of the Center that operates out of our affiliate on Lake Street in Chicago’s Austin community.

One neighbor (Village of Oak Park) is only as strong as the other neighbor (Chicago’s Austin community or Proviso’s Maywood community).

Austin Rising was launched to attract investment to the Austin community to do several things. We wanted to make sure there was assistance for landlord’s to improve their multi-unit buildings, to help homeowners correct code violations, and participate in property management programs that would strengthen the ability of many of these property owners.

Rob Breymaier, the former OPRHC Executive Director and I worked vehemently to create an initiative that would not only offer safe, decent

1041 South Boulevard, Oak Park, IL 60302 • 708-848-7150 5934 W. Lake St., Chicago, IL 60644 • 773-887-5187 Hours vary by location and season, please call ahead before you plan your visit!

The Oak Park Regional Housing Center is a 501c3 nonprofit, HUD approved agency. OPRHC is the home of: the Live in Oak Park Program, providing rental matching to affirmatively further fair housing; and the West Cook Homeownership Program, providing homebuyer education, all areas of housing counseling, and a financial education initiative to help people enhance their financial skills and create positive banking relationships The opinions and views presented in this section are not the opinions or views of any of our sponsors or funders.

and affordable housing options in the Austin, but also enable individuals of “color” to look, purchase and live in any community, including the Village of Oak Park.

What is right for the Village of Oak Park, should be right for all communities. Investment, families, economic opportunity, and social change. What does this mean? It means that the fight against discrimination is a “shared fight”. You see, one neighbor (Village of Oak Park) is only as strong as the other neighbor (Chicago’s Austin community or Proviso’s Maywood community). We are connected. Contact me, let’s get connected!

708-848-7150, awilliams@oprhc.org.